"Flash and Awe": How The Patriots Will Use The Spread Offense In 2009

With Brady back, the Patriots should look more like the University of West Virginia in 2009 than "your father's" Patriots. The spread offense is here to stay, and should be a cornerstone of the 2009 season.

Look for four and five wide receiver sets in 2009 with Randy Moss punishing teams on dig routes and posts, while Wes Welker takes the underneath stuff on screens and slants.

That's only two prongs on the Patriots' warhead. The spread forces teams to account for three to four additional offensive players.

A Trip Down Memory Lane: The Pats Spread Before 2009

From earlier this decade, and steadily increasing in recent seasons, Bill Belichick has used the spread offense as one of his bread-and-butter offensive looks.

And fans couldn't be happier, there is nothing better than watching the Patriots go Conan the Barbarian on the AFC east with the spread: "crush our enemies with five wide receiver sets, see them driven before us...and hear the lamentation of their cheerleaders!"   

Remember last year when the Patriots avenged their early season loss to the Dolphins 48 - 28 with 530 yards of offense? It was the spread offense which landed on Miami like Eisenhower landing on Normandy, overwhelming the Dolphin backfield.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette covered that game:

"Regularly utilizing a spread offense with four- and five-receiver sets, the Patriots stretched the Dolphin defense thin while piling up the yards and piling it on in a 48-28 victory at rowdy Dolphin Stadium.

That was all in the game plan to come out there and see how they’d try to defend that when we spread them out,” receiver Jabar Gaffney said. “We got some good stuff out of it and kept going to it.”

The Patriot Spread Offense in 2009

Unnoticed to most in the 2009 Patriots draft class was the acquisition of Julian Edelman (7th round), a mobile QB from Kent State and aficionado of the spread offense.

As a blogger of Mid American Conference football, I have seen Edelman play several times and this kid plays with a lot of blood and guts. He is only the second player in Kent State history to run for 1,000 and pass for 1,000.

The other?

Joshua Cribs, who runs the wildcat offense in the special "golden flash package" for the Cleveland Browns.

Do you see where I am going with this?

Look for "flash and awe" in 2009 as Edelman comes in on short yardage plays to operate out of the spread.

Making the zone read, Edelman will study the backside defensive end. If the end chases the running back, then Edelman will take off. If the DE looks to rush the QB than Edelman can hand the ball off to Kevin Faulk on the play side, giving the Patriots numbers-a great short yardage play.

Edelman also has the moxie and arm strength to throw a dart to any of the Patriots' receivers. He can keep defensive backs honest with the threat of a pass.

 Still, the Spread is Just a Wrinkle

The spread offense (though we will see a lot of it in 2009), like all of Belichick offensive strategies, is just a wrinkle. Bill will continue to throw a multitude of different looks with labyrinth like twists, turns, and quirks at every defense to keep them guessing, never relying on just one offensive look. 

As Belichick said in a press conference last year, "[the spread] was good for yesterday. Whether that will be good for next week or some other week, I don't know."    

In other words don't be surprised if the 2009 Patriots pass for 500 yards with the spread offense one game, and then run for 200 the next week with a George Halas era T-Formation.

Keep em' guessing Bill.